Profile differences in tetrodotoxin transfer to skin and liver in the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes.

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) was intramuscularly administered to nontoxic cultured specimens of the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes to investigate differences in the toxin transfer and accumulation profiles between the skin and liver. Test fish were administered TTX at doses of 30 (Low dose; LD), 100 (Medium dose; MD), and 300 (High dose; HD) μg/individual, respectively. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis for TTX revealed that the TTX concentration in both the skin (0.